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Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)

 

Prisoners

• 26.03.19 Israel Guards Handcuff 90 Palestinian Prisoners Overnight
• 26.03.19 Some 220 Palestinian Children in ‘Inhumane’ Israel Jails

Gaza

• 22.03.19 As Gaza’s Great March of Return Approaches One-Year, Protest Founder Ahmed Abu Artema Discusses Building a Non-Violent Movement
• 23.03.19 Gaza Rehearses for 1 Million at the Fence Next Week, as Israel Kills Two More Men
• 24.03.19 24-Year-Old Palestinian Killed in Great March of Return
• 25.03.19 Israel Pounds Gaza After Rocket Strikes House
• 26.03.19 Israeli Ceasefire Condition: Cancel ‘March of Return’
• 27.03.19 Israeli Airstrikes Damage 500 Palestinian Homes in Gaza (VIDEO)
• 26.03.19 In Pictures: Palestinians in Gaza Wake Up to the Aftermath of Israeli Bombardment
• 27.03.19 A Year on from The Great March of Return I Still Mourn My Daughter Razan, Killed in Cold Blood
• 30.03.19 Israeli Fire Kills Four Palestinians, Says Gaza Health Ministry

West Bank

• 23.03.19 Israeli Forces Arrest 10-Year-Old Palestinian Boy at His School (VIDEO)
• 27.03.19 ‘War Crime’: Israeli Forces Kill 17-year-old Palestinian Medic in West Bank
• 27.03.19 Israel Kidnaps 3 Palestinian Students in West Bank

East Jerusalem

• 22.03.19 Israel Cancels Mother’s Day Ceremony in East Jerusalem

Settlers and Settlements

• 26.03.19 Jewish Settlers Raid 2 Palestinian Elementary Schools

Boycott Divestment Sanctions

• 22.03.19 University Barred 10 Students from Campus During Queen’s Visit

Domestic Affairs

• 21.03.19 Hamas Violently Suppresses Gaza Economic Israeli Border Protests

Economics

• 22.03.19 Farming While Palestinian: A World Water Day Outrage

Foreign Affairs

 

United Kingdom

• 22.03.19 Charities Condemn UK Over Refusal to Endorse Gaza Deaths Report

United States

• 22.03.19 US Secretary Pompeo, in First, Visits Western Wall with Netanyahu
• 25.03.19 US: Pro-Palestine Activists Protest Against AIPAC Conference
• 26.03.19 Trump’s Golan Green Light Paves Way to Israel’s Annexation of West Bank
• 26.03.19 Israel Must Keep ‘Security Control’ Over Occupied West Bank, US Envoy Says
• 26.03.19 Congresswoman Omar Hits Back at Netanyahu
• 28.03.19 US Ambassador Reveals Details of ‘Deal of the Century’

Israel

• 23.03.19 Israeli MK Calls for Trump to Recognize Israel’s Annexation of West Bank
• 25.03.19 This Doesn’t Need to Happen: Another Pre-Election War on Gaza
• 27.03.19 More Than Half of Israelis Believe Gaza Attack Was ‘Too Soft’

European Union

• 28.03.19 EU Members States Unanimously Reject Israel’s Sovereignty Over Golan Heights, Defying Trump and Netanyahu

Legal Affairs

• 22.03.19 Israel Kills Gaza Protesters as UN Body Condemns “Unlawful” Force
• 27.03.19 Israel-Gaza Conflict: UN Urges Restrain After Violence Escalates Between Warring Factions
• 27.03.19 Rights Groups Urge UN to Protect Palestinians on ‘Great March’ Protest Anniversary
• 28.03.19 US Blasted at UN for Recognising Israeli Sovereignty Over Golan

Arts, Culture and Sport

• 23.03.19 Video: Meet the Women of Gaza’s Wheelchair Karate Team
• 27.03.19 On Poetry, Tradition, Risk-Taking, and Colonial Barbarians

 

‘Ninety Palestinian prisoners held at section 3 of the Negev prison, in southern Israel, spent their night handcuffed to their beds, Ma’an News has reported. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) reported that prisoners of the section were not provided with bed covers or any other belongings. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were assaulted and injured by Israeli prison guards on Sunday night. Israeli guards used bullets, stun grenades and tear-gas bombs to suppress prisoners.’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Monitor 

26.03.19 Some 220 Palestinian Children in ‘Inhumane’ Israel Jails

‘There are 220 Palestinian minors in Israeli jails, including eight girls, Director of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (PPC) Qaddoura Fares said yesterday.

Israeli raids to detain Palestinian children are carried out on a daily basis, Fares explained, and the minors are subjected to severe torture by Israeli occupation forces and interrogators.

In addition, he stressed that the Palestinian children suffer “harsh and inhumane conditions” in Israeli jails.’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Monitor

‘At twilight he saw birds fly overhead, soaring past the fence “and no one stopped them.”

It was a moment of definitive clarity. Ahmed was physically stuck inside a besieged non-state territory, and here was a flock birds more free than him.

“Why do we complicate simple matters? Isn’t it the right of a person to move free like a bird?” he asked. Looking again at the fence, frustrated he thought, “It clips my wings,” “it kills my dreams” and “it disrupts my evening walks.”’

Read the rest of the article at Mondoweiss

 

23.03.19 Gaza Rehearses for 1 Million at the Fence Next Week, as Israel Kills Two More Men

‘At the end of nearly 1,000 yards of newly-grown spring grassy turf, a renewed barbed-wire border fence rises three meters up, in anticipation of a million person march next week between Gaza protesters and their well-known antagonist snipers.’

Read the rest of the article at Mondoweiss

24.03.19 24-Year-Old Palestinian Killed in Great March of Return

‘Early Sunday morning 24-year-old Habeeb al-Masri died from wounds he received from an Israel Defense Force (IDF) on Saturday night as hundreds of Palestinians once again took part in the weekly Great March of the Return at the Strip demanding the removal of the blockade on Gaza, the disoccupation of Palestinian lands, and the return of Palestinian refugees.’

 

Read the rest of the article at TeleSur

25.03.19 Israel Pounds Gaza After Rocket Strikes House

Seven Palestinians were injured as Israel bombarded Gaza on Monday night in what Israel’s acting foreign minister said was the military’s largest offensive there since 2014. The bombing began Monday hours after a rocket fired from Gaza destroyed a home in Mishmeret, an agricultural town north of Tel Aviv, injuring seven. No Palestinian faction claimed responsibility for the rocket.

 

 

Read the rest of the article at The Electronic Intifada

26.03.19 Israeli Ceasefire Condition: Cancel ‘March of Return’

Read the rest of the article at TeleSur

27.03.19 Israeli Airstrikes Damage 500 Palestinian Homes in Gaza (VIDEO)

‘A total of 500 houses in the Gaza Strip were damaged by the latest Israeli airstrikes, Palestine’s public works minister said late Tuesday.
Mufeed al-Hasayneh said in a statement:
“In Israeli airstrikes against Gaza, 30 houses were completely destroyed and 500 houses were damaged.”’

 

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle

26.03.19 In Pictures: Palestinians in Gaza Wake Up to the Aftermath of Israeli Bombardment

 

Read the rest of the article and see the images at Middle East Eye

27.03.19 A Year on from The Great March of Return I Still Mourn My Daughter Razan, Killed in Cold Blood

‘”She was 20-years-old when she was shot.
It was June 1 2018, and Razan, the eldest of my six children and a volunteer medic and nurse from Palestine, was helping to treat wounded protestors taking part in the Great March of Return, which had begun on 30 March last year
In spite of her white coat she became a target for the Israeli Defence Force. As she tried to help evacuate the wounded near Israel’s border fence, she was hit.

Her death transformed her into a symbol for an entire nation under the boot of Israel.”‘

Read the rest of the article at The Independent

30.03.19 Israeli Fire Kills Four Palestinians, Says Gaza Health Ministry

‘Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians, including three teenagers, and shot more than 40 others at gatherings on the Gaza frontier marking the anniversary of the demonstration movement, the territory’s ministry of health said.

In an attempt to limit the huge numbers of casualties at previous rallies, Egypt has sought to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas, which governs Gaza and has backed the protests.’

Read the rest of the article at The Guardian

 

‘Israeli forces arrested a 10-year-old boy from his classroom and beat the deputy head of the school in the West Bank on Wednesday, allegedly for throwing stones. Activists posted a video of the incident.

Israeli soldiers arrested the fourth-grader in the Ziad Jaber School in the Jabir neighborhood adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron (Al-Khalil).
It is likely they exceeded their authority as the age of culpability is 12 under both Israeli civilian and military law, according to activists and legal experts.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle 

27.03.19 ‘War Crime’: Israeli Forces Kill 17-year-old Palestinian Medic in West Bank

’17-year-old medic, Shahid Muzher, was shot dead by Israeli forces in Bethlehem (occupied West Bank) while he was wearing his vest and tending to protesters. “Shahid Muzher was shot in the abdomen by the Israeli occupying forces after a raid in a refugee camp. He later died on the operating table at the Beit Jala Hospital. He was wearing a medic vest when the Israeli occupied forces opened fire, shooting indiscriminately.
Muzher was trying to save the injured protesters in the Dheisheh refugee camp after local Palestinian search rescue services were called.’

Read the rest of the article at TeleSur

27.03.19 Israel Kidnaps 3 Palestinian Students in West Bank

‘A group of Israeli undercover forces yesterday broke into Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank and kidnapped three students, taking them to an unknown location, Arab48 reported.
Israeli occupation forces also carried out widescale raids across the occupied West Bank and arrested a number of Palestinians.
According to accounts of witnesses, the undercover forces used a special tool to destroy the main gate of the university and stormed the student council office before kidnapping the three students, who are representative of the Islamic Bloc.’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Monitor

‘Israeli police forces banned a Mother’s Day ceremony, organized by the Jerusalem Girls Association, from taking place in the central occupied West Bank city of Jerusalem, on Thursday.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle

26.03.19 Jewish Settlers Raid 2 Palestinian Elementary Schools

‘A group of Jewish settlers attempted to raid two Palestinian elementary schools, on Tuesday afternoon, in the Tuqu village, southeast of the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem.
Locals told Ma’an that heavily armed Israeli forces escorted a group of Jewish settlers, who were gathered holding Israeli flags near the two mixed elementary schools, attempted to break in.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle 

Read more: Al Jazeera

22.03.19 University Barred 10 Students from Campus During Queen’s Visit

‘King’s College London is to order an independent review of its security procedures after a group of students said they were singled out as troublemakers and barred from campus during a visit by the Queen.

The 10 undergraduates say they are exploring legal action against KCL after their security passes were blocked and they were unable to attend lectures or go into libraries on Tuesday morning and early afternoon. The group say they were targeted because they are members of student political organisations, including Justice for Cleaners, which has successfully campaigned for the university to end its use of outsourced cleaners and security guards, and Action Palestine. Eight of the group are Muslim.’

Read the rest of the article at The Guardian

21.03.19 Hamas Violently Suppresses Gaza Economic Israeli Border Protests

‘Hamas appears to have forcibly suppressed a rare uptick in public dissent in Gaza, beating and arresting scores of people over the past week who have been demonstrating against price rises and dire living conditions across the strip.
A group of activists and civil society figures calling itself “We want to live” had planned a general strike on Thursday, but after attacks by riot police since last week it was not clear whether the strike would go ahead.’

Read the rest of the article at The Guardian

22.03.19 Farming While Palestinian: A World Water Day Outrage

‘Since 1967 when Israel issued several military orders asserting its control over all water sources in the newly occupied territories (Palestinians were denied the right to drill wells or repair existing ones and the orders decreed that any Palestinian water installation built without a permit would be destroyed), its policies have been aimed at depriving Palestinians access to the water they once enjoyed, and punishing them for further use.’

Read the rest of the article at Mondoweiss

 

22.03.19 Charities Condemn UK Over Refusal to Endorse Gaza Deaths Report

A coalition of UK charities has accused the British government of “a dereliction of responsibility” after ministers refused to endorse a UN-mandated commission of inquiry report into 187 deaths in Gaza that placed responsibility in almost all cases on the Israel defence forces.

At a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Foreign Office instead abstained, saying it could not support an investigation or a resolution that failed to investigate the role of non-state actors, and in particular Hamas.

The 187 deaths at the time of Gaza protests in 2018 were investigated by a UN-mandated commission of inquiry, an investigation that the UK declined to support at the time it was established.

Read more: The Guardian

22.03.19 US Secretary Pompeo, in First, Visits Western Wall with Netanyahu

‘US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accompanied Israel’s prime minister on a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Thursday, in the first such gesture since Washington recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, angering Palestinians, Reuters reports.

The ancient Western Wall, the most sacred prayer site in Judaism, is located in the eastern part of the city that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed in a move not recognized internationally.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle

25.03.19 US: Pro-Palestine Activists Protest Against AIPAC Conference

‘A large number of protestors gathered outside the United States White House in Washington DC to demonstrate against the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference Sunday. Pro-Palestine groups like Al-Awda, Students for Justice in Palestine, Answer Coalition, Code Pink and Neturei Karta spoke at the protests condemning Israel’s occupation of Palestine and influence of AIPAC in U.S. politics.’

Read the rest of the article at TeleSur

26.03.19 Trump’s Golan Green Light Paves Way to Israel’s Annexation of West Bank

‘When President Donald Trump moved the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem last year, effectively sabotaging any hope of establishing a viable Palestinian state, he tore up the international rulebook.

Last week, he trampled all over its remaining tattered pages. He did so, of course, via Twitter.

Referring to a large piece of territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967, Trump wrote: “After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability.”

Israel expelled 130,000 Syrians from the Golan Heights in 1967, under cover of the Six Day War, and then annexed the territory 14 years later – in violation of international law.’

Read the rest of the article at Mondweiss

26.03.19 Israel Must Keep ‘Security Control’ Over Occupied West Bank, US Envoy Says

‘While details of Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century” to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain shrouded in secrecy, a top American official said Israel must maintain “security control” over the occupied West Bank.

Speaking on Tuesday at AIPAC ‘s conference in Washington, the US ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Israel’s supporters should place their faith only in the Trump administration.’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Eye

26.03.19 Congresswoman Omar Hits Back at Netanyahu

‘Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he made remarks about her in his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Netanyahu took aim at Omar in his speech, saying: “From this Benjamin – it’s not all about the Benjamins”, in reference to US support for Israel which Omar had highlighted in a tweet last month.

Omar hit back on Twitter, saying: “This from a man facing indictments for bribery and other crimes in three separate public corruption affairs. Next!”’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Monitor

28.03.19 US Ambassador Reveals Details of ‘Deal of the Century’

The US Ambassador to Israel revealed on Wednesday three key elements of the long-awaited American Middle East peace plan known as the “deal of the century”, Anadolu has reported. David Friedman, who is a member of the three-man team tasked with formulating the plan, told this week’s American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington that the plan would give Israel full security control over the occupied West Bank.

Friedman is a strong supporter of Israel’s illegal settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories. He added that the deal will allow Israel to maintain a permanent security presence in the Jordan Valley.

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Monitor

23.03.19 Israeli MK Calls for Trump to Recognize Israel’s Annexation of West Bank

‘Hours after US President Donald Trump announced the recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, controversial Israeli Knesset Member (MK) Bezalel Smotrich has called for Trump to take a similar step regarding the occupied West Bank.

On Twitter, Smotrich wrote:
“President Trump, thank you. For 52 years, we have succeeded in the West Bank. It is also of a strategic, historical and security importance for Israel.”’

Read the rest of the article Palestine Chronicle

25.03.19 This Doesn’t Need to Happen: Another Pre-Election War on Gaza

‘The rocket fired from Gaza that destroyed a home and wounded seven people in central Israel Monday morning, took Israelis by surprise. On the one hand, that’s totally understandable; we aren’t used to rocket fire in the Tel Aviv area, and certainly not rockets that exact such a devastating price.

An attack on civilians, on a sleeping family, is a terrifying thing. On the other hand, the attack is surprising only if we disconnect it from all the stories that don’t get any airtime: unarmed protesters shot on the Israel-Gaza fence almost every week (only recently, a 14-year-old was shot dead by Israeli snipers), several deadly incidents West Bank in recent weeks, along with attacks and other steps being taken against Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.’

Read the rest of the article at +972 Mag

27.03.19 More Than Half of Israelis Believe Gaza Attack Was ‘Too Soft’

‘Over half of Israelis believe that Israel’s recent attack on the Gaza Strip was too weak, while only three percent thought it constituted an excessive approach.
The poll – which was published by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan this morning – found that 53 percent of respondents think Israel’s attack on Gaza in the past few days was “too soft”.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle

28.03.19 EU Members States Unanimously Reject Israel’s Sovereignty Over Golan Heights, Defying Trump and Netanyahu

The 28 member countries of the European Union have unanimously declared that they do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights region, despite a change in policy by the United States.

This week Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognising Israel’s control of the area, which it has occupied since 1967 when the Golan Heights was captured from Syria during the Six Day War.

Read the rest of the article at The Independent

 

22.03.19 Israel Kills Gaza Protesters as UN Body Condemns “Unlawful” Force

‘Israeli forces killed two protesters in the occupied Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Human Rights Council condemned the “apparent intentional use of unlawful lethal and other excessive force” against Great March of Return demonstrators. Gaza’s health ministry identified the Palestinians slain on Friday as 29-year-old Nidal Abd al-Karim Ahmad Shatat, shot in the chest, and 24-year-old Jihad Munir Khalid Harara, shot in the head.’

Read the rest of the article at The Electronic Intifada

27.03.19 Israel-Gaza Conflict: UN Urges Restrain After Violence Escalates Between Warring Factions

‘The United Nations has called for urgent restraint in Gaza and Israel, warning an escalation of violence between warring factions could have “catastrophic consequences”.
The caution by Nickolay Mladenov, the UN’s envoy for the Middle East, came after more than 24 hours of cross-border fire, sparked by a rocket attack from Gaza on a family home in central Israel which injured at least six people including a baby. No fatalities were reported by either side.’

Read the rest of the article at The Independent

27.03.19 Rights Groups Urge UN to Protect Palestinians on ‘Great March’ Protest Anniversary

‘Almost 20 Palestinian rights groups – both regional and international – urged the United Nations to protect Gazans who participate in the anniversary of the “Great March of Return” protests this coming Saturday.

In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, the groups warned that Israel “will once again resort to lethal and other excessive force, including live ammunition, to suppress the protests”.

“We urge the UN to take meaningful action to prevent further unnecessary loss of life and injury by the Israeli occupying forces, which entails individual criminal responsibility and may amount to international crimes,” the letter read.

They went on to issue an 11-point list of recommendations for the UN, including beefing up monitoring of Israel’s use of force on the protests, demanding accountability and making sure Israel adheres to the Geneva Convention.’

 

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Eye

Read more: Al Jazeera

28.03.19 US Blasted at UN for Recognising Israeli Sovereignty Over Golan

‘The United States came under sharp criticism from 14 other United Nations Security Council nations for its decision to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights in violation of international law.

The Security Council met on Wednesday at the request of Syria, which in a letter to the council called the US move a “flagrant violation” of UN resolutions.’

Read the rest of the article at Al Jazeera

23.03.19 Video: Meet the Women of Gaza’s Wheelchair Karate Team

‘This karate team in Gaza is comprised of all women who use wheelchairs.
The team was established by coach Hasan al-Rai in 2016, when he was training a karate team for the blind and they scored third place in an international tournament.

“At first, I faced difficulty with my parents, how a girl with a disability would practice karate. I faced the same difficulty with society,” Suha Muqat, a member of the team, told The Electronic Intifada.’

Read the rest of the article here: The Electronic Intifada

Read more: TeleSur

27.03.19 On Poetry, Tradition, Risk-Taking, and Colonial Barbarians

‘Najwan lives in two cities: his birthplace, Jerusalem, and Haifa. The New York Review of Books, which published the English translation of his collection of poems, Nothing More to Lose, describes him, “one of the foremost Arabic-language poets of his generation”. Najwan’s poetry has been translated to over 20 languages. He is also a cultural critic and the head editor of the culture section in the Arab-language newspaper Al Araby Al Jadeed.’

Read the rest of the article at Al Jazeera